I'm thinking specifically about marathon weekend. Is there any advantage to staying at an EPCOT resort since you still have to take a bus to the beginning of the race over say a value like Pop?
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Does one resort have better transporation to the races than others?
- Thread starter durangojim
- Start date
lukacseven
Well-Known Member
The same road closures/delays apply regardless of where you're staying. I've stayed at OKW for the marathon weekend where the start line is literally on the other side of the highway from the resort entrance, yet it took about the same amount of time to get to the staging area than it does from Kidani Village. Something else to factor in with value resorts is that they are generally more crowded for the marathon and the lines to get the buses for the races are much longer. Although the ride time may be shorter, you may end up standing in a line that loops around the pool twice for 45 minutes to get on the bus.
Thank you. Is it possible to take your own vehicle?
Ariel484
Well-Known Member
Yes...the challenge is getting around all of the road closures.
For race weekends I've stayed at Port Orleans - Riverside, Beach Club, Grand Floridian, Port Orleans - French Quarter and Wilderness Lodge. Transportation has never been a problem for me but you just never know (example: the year I was at the Beach Club I did the marathon - I remember hearing that transportation from the Epcot resorts was awful the day before for the half, but it was fine for me that morning). The best experience I've had was at the Grand Floridian since I had monorail access, but everywhere else was pretty good.
One thing to keep in mind is that the Epcot resorts - all 5 - have the potential to share buses. But Disney contracts extra buses for the race weekends so it shouldn't be too bad, save for the odd situation here or there.
Monorail Lime
Well-Known Member
Possible, but not advisable. Traffic and parking is a nightmare on race morning.
Race shuttle busses have their own dedicated routes to the drop off point that bypass the rest of the traffic. So while you might have to wait in line for a while to board the bus, you will still get to the starting area much quicker than driving yourself.
Unfortunately we're only going to be in the room for 1 night, as we're going on a Disney cruise immediatly following the 10K, so I'm finding it hard to justify the extra money to stay in a deluxe. I might if the transportation was significantly better, or if you could walk from/to the resort (which I know you can't). We'll probably just stay at Pop and enjoy the suite on the Dream. Thanks to everyone for the replies.
Mad Stitch
Well-Known Member
I stayed at Pop twice for Marathon weekend and walked on to the bus with no wait both times.
PhilharMagician
Well-Known Member
Be aware that if you catch when extra trains are being added to the lines that it can cause somewhat lengthy delays. We have been caught a few times it took over an hour to get to Epcot from the Contemporary. Monorails are cool, but their inherent track design is it's biggest problem. Hopefully the upcoming automation upgrades will increase the speed in which they can process track changes for the trains.
dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
Every non-monorail resort has a constant stream of buses. As long as you are on the bus by the time runDisney says, you will make the race. When in doubt, get on earlier.